IBSM VIETNAM

10 Days In Vietnam

Hanoi

Day 1: Singapore to Vietnam
Day 2: ToTo Vietnam Co. Ltd., UniWorld Int'l School
Day 3: Honda Vietnam Co. Ltd., Yamaha Vietnam Co. Ltd.
Day 4: Ha Tay Brewery, Hanoi Open University, Ciputra Int'l City

-Hanoi to Ho Chih Minh City-

Ho Chih Minh City

Day 5: My Tho, Ben Thanh Market, Cyclo Tour
Day 6: Cu Chi Tunnel, Tay Ninh Province, An Dong Plaza
Day 7: Quang Trung Software City, ITPC Showroom, Networking Dinner
Day 8: HCMC Int'l Exhibition&Convention Centre, Vietnam-Sinapore Industrial Park
Day 9: Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Vopak
Day 10: Ho Chih Minh City to Singapore

Conclusion

Day 10 - Ho Chih Minh City to Singapore

Alas our international study mission had sadly come to end and we had to unfortunately, depart for Singapore.

Day 9 - Last Meal

After the trip to the petroleum company Vopak, we proceeded to having our last meal of the entire Vietnam trip. The meal was a steamboat dinner on board a ship and halfway through our meal, the ship started moving! Overall, the dinner was extremely pleasant and enjoyable experience and a fine way to cap off the study mission.

Day 8 – Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park

Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park is a fully integrated industrial park located in Binh Duong province. VSIP is highly accessible as it is only 17km from Ho Chih Minh City, it is also a 40 minute drive from Tan Son Nhat International Airport and 45 minutes away from major sea ports. In addition, Ho Chih Minh City is only a 2 hour flight away from Singapore. As a significant number of tenants in the industrial park are Singapore based companies, this short 2 hour flight is much more attractive as compared to 5-7 hour flight to China.

Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park is one of the best industrial parks in Vietnam and this is due to the fact that the industrial park has a very stable and well-built infrastructure with ready-built factories, roads, buildings etc.

Such modern industrial parks are in high demand due to the one-stop facilities that the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park offers such as on-site custom approvals, an efficient estate management team and system, reliable security etc.

In fact the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park is thriving so well that plans to set up at VSIP 2 are already underway and it will offer the same customer service that VSIP currently offers.

Group photo

Day 7 - Networking Dinner

We had our second networking dinner with Singapore personnel in Vietnam at Windsor Plaza Hotel, Ho Chin Minh City. The guest’s speakers present were:

Mr. Goh Boon Keng from Tan Cheong Machinery

Mr. Benjamin Yap who is a renown Lawyer

Mr. Thng Tian Tat the Vice-President of UOB

Mr. SK Nair who is the General Director of Singapore Informatics & Business Management Education Ltd

Mr. Peter Cheong who is the coordinator of the Singapore Business Group in Vietnam.

Each of the speakers gave short speeches and they shared with us valuable and at the same time interesting experiences about the culture and norms of the Vietnamese when doing business in the host country.
Each of them brought up important points about doing business in Vietnam. For example, Mr Peter Cheong stressed the importance of keeping an open mind when first entering the market in Vietnam and one has to adapt to the culture in order to thrive in the Vietnamese market.

The guest whom my group were accompanied by was Mr SK Nair. Mr SK Nair shared with us one of the first few obstacles he faced when first coming to Vietnam was communication and a language barrier. He also told us that doing business in Vietnam is very much different from doing one in Singapore. In Vietnam for example, one cannot take a lot of things for granted such electricity, water supply etc. Such basic necessities are commonly taken for granted by Singaporeans in Singapore and when faced with a power failure in Vietnam for example, we might not know or be able to handle the situation. The difference in living condition between Singapore and Vietnam is vast and one has to adapt very well in order to get use to the lifestyle of the Vietnamese.

Day 6 - Cu Chi Tunnel

The Cu Chi tunnel is a network of underground tunnels constructed by the Vietnamese guerrillas during their war against the United States of America. The tunnel stretches for more than 70 miles and it consists of several levels for different purposes. The purpose for the construction of the tunnel was to hide from the Americans during the war. However, by understanding the significance and reason behind this tunnel, one can see ‘deeper’ into the Vietnamese culture and their general characteristics.

For example, we learnt from our tour guide Kah that the tunnel was dug at a rate of 5 metres per day in small groups and by the end of the war, the complex network of tunnels stood at an astounding 70 over miles in length. From this, we can already derive how resilient the Vietnamese people were and how strong their willpower and perseverance was.

Another reason why the tunnel managed to reach such a length was due to the fact that the guerrillas kept digging non-stop throughout the war. This again shows the dogged surviving instincts of the Vietnamese as well as the sheer determination to win the war even though they were up against arguably the strongest military army in the world.